Nearing the end

Today sees the last day of the inaugural Newcastle Fashion Week. Its been a MEGA event with lots of exciting things going on all around the city and will hopefully go some way to putting Newcastle on the Fashion map. I guess what we really hope is that this event will help encourage independent designers to start/keep their business in Newcastle and help indy shops (the few that there are in the city) thrive.

As we say goodbye to Fashion Week, we also say "so long" to 79 Grainger Street. On the 31st May, in only 10 days time, Made In Newcastle will be shutting up shop at 79 Grainger street. We've been there for 6 MONTHS and can scarce believe it, the time has gone so quickly.
Those of you who have been following the MiN project since its birth last year, will know that foremost it is an empty shop project and we can only be based in a premises for a temporary period. Ideally we would love to stay in a place on a permanent basis and have a space which offers affordable workshops as well as the gallery and shop. The reality is though that the price is too high and we just can't afford it. This city needs more independent shops though and its something that the MiN collective feel strongly about.

We will be looking for a new base and in the meantime we'll continue to do stuff online and run events around the city, just not from the Grainger St property. You can keep up to date with all our antics on the blog and on our website.

Over the last 6 months at the 79 Grainger premises, its been a pleasure having your support and we're very grateful to Thomas Cook for letting the space to us & giving us the opportunity to showcase the city's artistic talent. We also must thank Newcastle City Council for the financial support they have given us.

Just one last thing to say, before we shut the shop on close of play 31st May - our advise is:
"H'way and geet yourself doon there, quick like"!

Ncstl Fashion Week Guest Designer

Yippee its Friday!!

The guest maker post today is about Rochelle Laine. A recent graduate from Norwich University College of the Arts, Rochelle is now the proud owner of a first class BA Honors Degree in Textiles.
Through the years at University Rochelle has grown into her own style of working, which involves using a lot of mixed media including C.A.D embroidery, laser cutting and weaving. Recently she has been using real fur and leather to create heavy textured pieces.

Rochelle loves to be innovative and push the boundaries of current textile practice. She has developed an in depth knowledge of colour and fabric structure and the use of smart materials in her developmental work helps her to accomplish her design ideas.

Rochelle tells us that throughout education she strived to make an impact with her practical work which has helped her become more aware of the textile design industry and enable her to engage in a sustained and focused period of creative work.
To find out more info about this talented graduate designer visit her blog: http://rochellelaine.blogspot.com/ or the East Durham Artists Network website: http://www.edan.org.uk/

At the moment you can view her work on the walls of the shop gallery space and Rochelle has also included some of her outfits in the showcase.

Ncstl Fashion Week Guest Designer

Another fashiony day is upon us, which means another delightful post about one of our wonderful guest makers. Today its the turn of Kathryn McKelvey, who's work is currently adorning the walls of the MiN gallery space.

Kathryn did a fashion degree at Newcastle Polytechnic and after graduating began work in the fashion forecasting industry in New York city as a designer/illustrator.
Nowadays she makes her living as a lecturer at Northumbria university and a writer, or rather creator of fashion books for publishers John Wiley & Sons. Some of her works include 'Fashion Source Book', 'Illustrating Fashion', 'Fashion Design: Process, Innovation & Practice and Fashion Forecasting'.



















Kathryn's illustration process begins as a hand drawn image created using an unforgiving fine-liner or ballpoint pen. She scans the drawings, creates her own textile designs and adds colour to the the drawings digitally, utilising backdrops from her own photographs and creating special effects using illustration applications.
The prints are then hand finished using techniques such as gilding to give the illustration a slightly more hand made feel and unique effect.

Come into the shop & feast your eyes on Kathryn's gorgeous work which is on sale at a very reasonable price and will be on show for the rest of Fashion Week.

To keep up to date with all her ventures why not follow her blog: www.kathrynmckelvey.tumblr.com

Ncstl Fashion Week Guest Designer

Today's spotlight is on two emerging design talents Amelia-Jane Friend and Dean Blair.

Amelia is a first year fashion student at Northumbria University who at a young age is already developing a unique style of her own.
She has always had passion for fashion and believes there is more to it than the appearance created by the clothing and accessories, but that its all about identity and how fashion helps you to express individualism and your personality.

Amelia's quirky designs are ultimately about having fun. She enjoys using bright prints with a variety of colours and including quirky details to each garment resulting in a vibrant collection. Amelia also likes to use classical shapes usually inspired by past fashions and she often references the 60s and 70s in her designs. She describes her current collection as bright, fun and easy to wear whether it be for a festival or to a party.

Amelia is currently showcasing several of her pieces in the shop, one of our personal favourite pieces is her cute & summery butterfly print dress - gorgeous!





The second of our guest makers to highlight today is Dean Blair. A self taught designer born and bred in Newcastle.
Since an early age he has loved fashion and been determined to get ahead in this competitive industry. He began making things as a teenager when he used to customize jeans for his family and up-cycle old clothes to give them a new lease of life and revamp them. Dean still enjoys the challenge of customising unwanted second hand clothing into a new desirable piece as he can get really creative and experimental.

Truly a self-made designer, Dean grew up on a council estate in an area where opportunities are not in abundance - far from it. He never studied fashion, mainly because of funding and understands how hard it can be to find your feet and get the support you need in a lower socio-economic environment. His family have really supported Dean throughout the years in following his dreams and are always there for guidance.

Today Dean's designs and makes his own range of clothes, costume wear and accessories under the brand name 'BUJU'.





Over the last 10 years he has worked as a freelance designer on many different projects including designing and styling girl bands for tours and video shoots and making costumes for dancers in the uk and abroad.




















He hopes one day he can achieve his dream and work alongside some of the top designers and maybe becoming a big name in the fashion industry.

Ncstl Fashion Week Guest Designer

Morning everyone. Today's guest maker post is on Gradley Thirkle of Subtle Clothing. As well as showcasing work in MiN, Subtle Clothing will also be featured on the 'Fashion Front Row' catwalk this evening at As you Like It in Jesmond, Newcastle.

So heres what its all about:
Subtle Clothing is an emerging ethically aware British fashion label based in Tyneside. Run by Gradley along with members of his family the ethos is about being understated yet stylish.
The concept for the brand originated when watching British Style Genius on BBC2 in the autumn of 2008. Gradley was inspired and came up with the idea of creating his own ethically aware fashion label. With previous experience of working in retail in Britain and Canada and working as part of the Diamond and Rings Merchandising team for two major Jewellers in London, Gradley already had a background in fashion. At the dawn of 2011 Subtle Clothing was brought into the world.

Each design is created to be stylish, fashionable and underpinned throughout by SC's understated viewpoint and the world’s penchant for acting like a peacock. The theme for their first design is the weather, executed in a quirky and subtle way. This was inspired by the British passion for talking about the weather, whilst making small talk with friends, family and/or strangers.
The summer design has been screen printed using the CMYK process onto a white organic cotton t-shirt, certified organic by the Soil Association. The print will be limited to 700 organic cotton t-shirts by t-shirt colour and is the inspiration for the range name – “700” by Subtle Clothing. Each t-shirt will contain a label stating 'This t-shirt is one of 700 lovingly created by Peacocks, for Peacocks. Be part of the Muster' and will display a Subtle Clothing logo on the nape of the neck on the back of the t-shirt.

The t-shirt is available from the subtleclothing.com, https://marketplace.asos.com and is of course available at Made In Newcastle during Fashion week - 14th to the 21st May.
Whats more if you buy a Subtle Clothing tee from the Made In Newcastle shop each customer will get a free black, organic cotton Subtle Clothing bag (normally RRP £15).
You can contact Gradley for more information via email: info@subtleclothing.com’ or drop him a line on tel: 07933844196.